Ice911 chose to focus on the Arctic because it's the area where we can make the largest impact on global temperatures. The ice in the Arctic acts like a global heat shield, reflecting heat that would otherwise warm the ocean and destabilize global weather.

With Arctic ice declining even more every decade, we need to act soon or we could see an ice-free Arctic summer by 2030.

DECLINING ICE EXTENT

Since 1979, Arctic ice has lost approximately 80% of its volume. Although the ice builds up during the winter, it has not been enough to compensate for the losses since 1979. The video above shows the decline in minimum sea ice extent since 1979, which is basically the amount of ice left to reflect heat during the summer.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BRIGHT ICE

There are three ways the Arctic reflects heat: with bright ice, bare ice, and open ocean. Bright ice, which is basically a combination of ice and snow, reflects 90% of the heat that comes its way. Bare ice reflects 50% of heat, and open ocean only reflects 6% of heat. Ice911's material mimics bright ice to reflect the most heat possible -- keeping more ice in the Arctic and the planet cooler for everyone.

THE ICE911 SOLUTION: MIMIC BRIGHT ICE

Because the ocean absorbs 94% of the heat that comes its way, the Arctic could become a global heater if we let its ice melt. Ice911 wanted to develop a solution that reflects the most heat, so we decided to mimic bright ice with our material. That way, we can keep more ice in the Arctic during the summer and restore the Arctic ice sheet to its previous size over time.

To learn even more about the impacts of Arctic ice loss, see Yale Environment360's explanation here.